(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Gov. Gavin Newsom, D–Calif., pushed for a minimum wage exemption that would enable his top donor and billionaire businessman to circumvent the leftist state’s new minimum wage law.
Greg Flynn, who owns two dozen Panera Bread chains in the state of California, gave $100,000 to help Newsom ward off a recall effort and $64,800 to Newsom’s reelection campaign back in 2022, according to the Daily Caller.
The state’s new minimum wage law will raise workers’ pay from $16 an hour to $20 an hour at fast food restaurants with more than 60 locations all over the country, except for chains that bake and sell stand-alone bread as a menu item as of Sept. 15, 2023.
Back in September 2023, Newsom was asked why bread makers like Panera and Boudin Sourdough Bakery were receiving special exemptions in the law. The governor responded by telling reporters that the provision’s inclusion was “part of the sausage-making” of the bill and that “it’s the nature of negotiation.”
The news source added that Flynn is worth at least $1.1 billion and controls an empire of 2,600 franchise locations for brands like Applebee’s, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Wendy’s.
Initially, the billionaire sought to have Panera not be considered a fast food restaurant, arguing it was a fast-casual chain. Instead, the Service Employees Union, the organization that is responsible for the orchestration of the drive for the bill, later decided to create the bread maker carve-out to convince Newsom to sign the bill due to his relationship with Flynn.
In addition to that, the law also empowers a ten-member Fast Food Council to create the minimum wage, mandate working conditions and require training standards for fast food employees, the news source revealed.
Some restaurant chains said they will have to raise prices to adjust to higher expenses due to the wage increase. Among those restaurant chains were Chipotle and McDonalds.
